Apparatus for distilling oil shale



Jan. 14, 1941. E. P. MoRRl'sH APPARATUS FOR DISTILLING OIL SHALE Filed Jan. 19, 1938 2 sh ds-sheet 1 I NV EN TOR Patented Jan. 14,1941

4 Claims.

- My invention relates to the recovery of oil and other products from shale or'other material and more particularly to an improved apparatus for accomplishing this recovery.

To obtain the oil from oil shale it is necessary to heat the shale in a retort. The oil is the result of destructive distillation and is driven oiI'in a form of vapor to be later condensed by cooling. Many types of retorts or stills have been con ill ful have been what is known as the vertical type. No'horizontal type of still, although more simple structed to distill shale oil and the most success-,

andicheaper to construct, has been made which ineifective and inefficient distillation process.

Closed types of stills have been employed to dis- 20 till shale oil but because of the high pressures or vacuums employed they have not been satisfacfrom the shale when heated and permit them to be quickly condensed into thejdesired products:

Another objector my invention is to produce adistilling apparatus for shale oil which will-not become easily clogged byany asphaltum-base oils and which can be easily and quickly cleaned.

Still another object of my invention is to recover oil from shale by an improved and more 40 eiiicient method.

Other objects of my invention will become apparent from the followingdescription taken in connection with the accompanying drawings showing apparatus embodying my invention and capable of carrying out my improved distillation process. 1

Figure 1 is a side view partly in section of my improved still for distilling oil from shale; Figure 2 is an end view of the still taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a. top view of the charging end; Figure 4 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a portion of a modified construction: and

Figure 5 is a cross-sectionalview taken on the.

line [-5 of Figure 4.

Referring to Figures 1, 2 and 3, the numeral placed in the bottom thereof to permit the heavier .oils to flow toward the front end. The legs l6 braced by suitable braces I! as shown.

headerpipe 2i and those on the other side to a indicates the main body of the still which in the particular construction shown is cylindrical in shape. One end of this cylinder has welded thereto an annular'flange 2 to which is attached by bolts 3 a removable closure plate 4, there being a 5 copper and asbestos gasket 5 to insure perfect sealing. The opposite end of the cylinder also has welded thereto an annular flange 6 and 00-- operating therewith to close the endof the cylinder is a door I. The door is held in closed posi- 10 tion bya. special stamp construction comprising a bracket 8 pivotally mounted 'Qnthe flange 6 by a pivot'pinil and having-a hooked end ill for engaging the inner edge of the flange. The central part of the bracket has threadedtherein a clamping screw ll carrying a head I2 for engaging the central portion of the door and a wheel I3 for rotating the screw. The bracket also has a handle M for swinging the bragglet on its pivot when the door is to be opened. with a slot I! for receiving a part of the bracket. To open the door it is only necessary .to unscrew the screw II and then swing the bracket aside.

The cylinder is mounted on four legs it, the two at the closed or left end of the cylinder being 25 longer than those at the door end in order that the cylinder be slightly inclined to the horizontal.

.The angle of inclination mayvary but should be such as to allow for the heavier oils resulting from the distillation'to flow toward the door end where they my" drained'ofl through a pipe I'I controlled by a. valve It. If desi'":-"., the cylinder could be positioned horizontal and an inclined trough are The cylinder has communicating therewith a V series of vapor outlet conduits 20, there being four on each side in the particular construction shown. The conduits on oneside are Joined to a headerpipe 22. A special joint 2'3 is provided between each conduit and its header pipe which will permit the header to be quickly removed so that the conduits and the header pipes may be accessible for cleaning. The point at which the vapor conduits communicate with the interior of the cylinder is very important this point being just above the center of the cylinder. If these outlets were at a lower point the vapors driven off. the 50 shale would be overheated and if at a higher point they would not be properly removed. The header pipes rest on brackets 24 on the legs and are .connected together at the front end of the still and to a pipe 25 leading to a condensing coil 26 in a water 55 e door is also provided 20 thereto a burner chamber 29 which rests on cross braces 30 between the legs, and positioned in this chamber are the burners 3| which are supplied with gas, oil or other suitable fuel. The chamber 29 is covered with asbestos or other heat insulating material as is also the lower part of the cylinder between the conduits 20 and the burner chamber. The upper part of the cylinder is left uncovered.

Extending into the cylinder through the rear end plate I isa pipe 32 which is connectedby a pipe 33 to a liquid tank 34 and controlled by'a hand valve 35. The liquid in the tank in most instances will be water but other liquids or rapidly expanding gases may be employed as will be explained subsequently. To permit the temperature in the cylinder and that of the vapors to be readily ascertained, a suitable temperature recorder may be employed, as for example, the thermometer 36 extending into a small dome on the top of the cylinder. In order that the shale 31 may be easily inserted in the cylinder and the residue removed, a cylindrical screen container 38 is employed.

The operation of the still and the method of extracting the oil from the shale is as follows: The shale is first crushed to such a size that the vapors can be removed without danger of burning them by any high temperatures in the inner part. of the shale. It has been found that if the crushed shale will pass through a one-half inch mesh screen or less, the gases may be properly removed. The crushed shaleis then placed in the screen container when it is removed from the cylinder and after putting the charge in the cylinder, the door I is clamped in closed position.

The burners are now lighted and the cylinder heated. When the temperature in the cylinder has reached about 60 degrees centrigrade, oil vapors will begin to be driven off the shale. This temperature should be reached about one-half hour after starting the burners or a suiflcient length of time to heat the interior of the shale, which is the coolest, to a temperature substantially the same as that at which the vapor begins to come off. The temperature at which the vapor begins to-come of! will vary depending upon the type of shale beim used, the temperature given being that for Devonian shale which carries' apgood commercial quantity of oil and other valuable products. when the oil vapors'begin to come oh, the heat may be increased somewhat but not sufficiently to. cause decomposition of the oil vapors.

The vapors which have been driven off will also contain relatively nbn-condensable gases and will rise to the top of the cylinder. The vapors containing oil and other products driven off will have a greater density than these non-con densable gases and will, therefore, begin to separate out and take aposition below the noncondensable gases which gases will tend to maintain their positions adjacent the top wall of the cylinder. This separation is assisted by the fact that the top portion of the cylinder is in contact with the atmosphere and, therefore, cooler, thus permitting the oil vapors to condense more rapidly and, therefore, facilitate their separation from the non-condensable gases. v top wall of the cylinder also causes the oil laden The curved 2,228,474 cooled condenser 21. The vapors which are convapors to flow toward the outlets as they condense. The vapor containing the oil or other desirable products will thus be approximately above the center of the cylinder and below them will be the vapors containing baser oils which are not desired. Since the vapor outlets are just above the center, it is seen that the vapors containing the oils desired will be free to pass out into conduits 20 and into the headers. It is noted that the conduits 20 drop rapidly and being shielded from the heat by the asbestos chamber 29 are, therefore, cooler than the interior of the cylinder. As soon as the vapors move into these cooler conduits, they begin to condense still more rapidly and because of their greater density will drop down the pipe into the headers. The vapors pass from the headers and are condensed in the condenser coil and appear as crude oil.

In order to insure that the vapors be driven out of-the cylinder from time to time and not allowed to become overheated and decomposed, steam is caused to be formed in the cylinder. This is accomplished by opening the valve 35 and allowing a small quantity of water to pass into the cylinder which will immediately be changed to steam by the high. temperature of the cylinder.

The temperature of the cylinder should be progressively increased until it is approximately 750 degrees centigrade or such temperature required to completely distill the particular shale being treated. Complete distillation can usually be consummated 'in about one and one-half or two hours after the vapors begin to some oil. The more rapid the distillation caused by a rapid rise in temperature, the larger will be the volume of crude oil secured from the shale whereas on the other hand if the temperature is raised slowly the quality of oil will be better as there is less possibility of overheating the vapors or causing cracking or decomposition on re-distillation. The heavy oils such as those having anasphaltum base flow to the front end of-the cylinder and are drawn off from time to time through the pipe l1.

When the distillation is complete, sufficient water'is admitted to the cylinder to produce sufflcient steam to force all the vapors out and then after turning off the burners, the retort is allowed to cool which cooling, if desired, may. be accelerated by the continued release in the retort of steam or some non-explosive gas. when the retort has cooled down to about 150 degrees centigrade, the steam or other gas, if not al-v ready being employed,- is released in the retort in sufficient quantities to maintain a'slight positive pressure. The door is then quickly opened and the spent shale quickly removed. By having the steam or gas in the retort at the time the door is opened, air will not be allowed to enter the retort and cause an explosion with its attendant undesirable results. The greatest percentage of oil vapors will be removed without decomposition by having the vapor conduits 20 communicating with-the cylinder at the point shown. If the outlets were higher up, only part of the desirable vapors would pass out and the others would be decomposed and if they were lower, some the .less desirable products would flow into the vapor outlets.

The oil vapors coming off the shale contain different products at different temperatures depending upon the shale used. Among these may be mentioned ethers, naptha, gasoline, kerosene, lubricating oil, and so forth. It is thus seen 70 near the top wall.

formed to force out the vapors, other liquids and gases may be employed. For example, if it is desired to dehydrate the oil vapors, a mixture of water and sulphuric acid can be employed or sulphuric acid alone. Rapidly expanding gases which have no reaction with the vapor and are non-explosive can also be used effectively in place of the steam and among these may be mentioned the inert gases, nitrogen or carbon dioxide.

Although the still is described as being used for the distillation of shale, it may be employed to distill other substances which require destructive distillation to secure the desired products and, 2 therefore, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the distillation of shale only. Referring to modifications shown in Figures 4 and 5, the cylinder forming the retort and the .vapor conduits are of somewhat diflerent con- .struction but the remainder of the still is sub-- stantially the same as already described and, therefore, similar parts are indicated by the same numerals. The cylinder 1' is provided with a plurality of longitudinally spaced openings 40 in its top wall 4| which communicate with a chamber 42 positioned above the cylinder and having a curved top wall 43 which is'preierably concentric with the top wall of the cylinder. This chamber extends over about 90 degrees and its side wall 44 has connected thereto the series of vapor outlet conduits '45 and its side wall 45 has connected thereto the series of vapor outlet conduits 41. The interior of the chamber 42 is provided with baflle plates 48 extending downwardly from the top wall 43-and spaced between the vapor outlets. The compartments between the baflle plates are connected together by openings 49. The upper or left hand end or the chamber also has communicating therewith a chamber 50 for collecting the relatively non-condensable gases. A valve ii at the top of the chamber permits these gases to be drawn oil when desired. If the gases are combustible, they may be employedin heating the retort after the distilling operation has begun. The top outer surface of wall '43 of chamber 42 is also shown as provided with cooling flns- 52. In" place of these flns the top wall may be corrugated for increasing the radiating placed injthe cylinder I in the 'samemanner as shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3.

In the modification the desirable on laden vapors driven oil the shale pass through the openlugs 40 intofthe chamber 42 where it is cooler than in the cylinder. The vapors carrying the oiland other desired product then separate. from the relatively non-condensable gases and assume their level below the gases and opposite the vapor outlets into which they are free to pass. The bame plates prevent the rapid longitudinal shifting or the gases and tend to confine the gases The curved top wall of the chamber 43 also assists in causing the vaporsto move toward the vapor outlets. The separate chamber 42 prevents any of the vapors from going back into the cylinder once they have entered v 75 the chamber, thus there is little possibility of the terial containing oil and other products capable vapors becoming decomposed on re-distillation or cracking taking place. By having a'separate and cooler chamber above the cylinder to permit contraction of the vapors, they will pass out-oi the retort more rapidly and there is a better sep- 5 .aration from the undesirable heavier oil vapors. Having thus described my invention and being aware of the possibilities of modifications, I desire it to be understood that I do not intend that the scope of the invention be limited except 10 as required bythe appended claims. Having fullydescribed my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is: v

1. In an apparatus for destructive distillation of carbonaceous deposits such as oil shale or other carbonaceous material, a stationary elongated hollow member having its longitudinal axis positioned substantially horizontal and adapted to receive a charge of distillable shale or other material containing oil and other products capable of being driven on as a vapor by the application of heat, a chamber above the hollow member and having a top wall the inner'surface of 25 which is concave, said-chamber being in communication with the hollow member by openings in the top wall thereof, longitudinally spaced vapor outlets at both sides of the chamber, downwardly extending conduits connected to the outlets and 30 having no portion above .the outlets, a condenser connected-to the conduits, and means for applying heat uniformly-to the bottom of the hollow member.

2. In an apparatus for destructive distillation as of carbonaceous deposits such as oil shale, a stationary elongated hollow member having its lon-' gitudinal axis positioned substantially horizontal and adapted to receive a charge 01 distillable material containing all and other products capable of beingdriven or! as vapors by the application of heat, a chamber above the hollow member and having a top wall the inner surface of which is concave, said chamber being in communication with the hollow member by openings in the top wall thereof, longitudinally spaced vapor outletsat both sides oi the chamber; downwardly extending conduits connected to the outlets and having no portion above the outlets, baiiles 'extending downwardly from the top wall of the chamber and positioned between the vapor outlets, a condenser connected to the conduits, and means for applying heat uniformly to the bottom of the hollow member. I

3. In apparatus for destructive distillation of carbonaceous deposltssuch as oil shale, a stationary elongated hollow member having its longitudinal axis positioned substantially horizontal and adapted. to receive a charge of distillable maof being driven oil as a vapor by the application of heat, a chamber above the hollow member and having a top wall, the inner surface of which is concave, said chamber being in communication with -the hollow member by openings in the top wall thereof, longitudinally spaced vapor outlets on each-side of the chamber and communicating with the chamber at a predetermined'distance below the top wall thereof, downwardly extendin'g conduits connected to the outlets, a header pipe connected with the conduits on each side, a condenser'connected to the conduits-means for apply ng heat uniformly to the hollow member,

and a non-condensable gas collecting chamber". I

positioned above -theflrst named chamber and communicating therewith.

4. In an apparatus for destructive distillation of carbonaceous deposits such as oil shale, a stationary elongated hollow member having its lonwith the hollow member by openings in the top wall thereof, longitudinally spaced vapor outlets on each side 0! the chamber and communicatin with the chamber at a predetermined distance below the top wall thereof. downwardly extending conduits connected to the outlets, a header pipe connected with the conduits a: each side, a

condenser connected to the conduits, means for applying heat uniformly to the hollow member,

and heat radiating means associated with the ex-' 10 V terior of the top walio! the chamber. I EDWARD P. MORRISH. 

